Wai me taiao
Water & environment
We investigate water quality, identify contamination sources, and develop resources to better manage waterways, the surrounding environment, and potential risks to public health.
About
At ESR we understand the health of our water is critical to the health of our people. E ora ana te wai. Water is life.
We look at the relationship between drinking water, surface water, stormwater and wastewater, to understand how it affects, and is affected by, the health of our main water source, groundwater.Â
We detect and monitor threats to our water, including the impact of climate change, while exploring sustainable solutions to protect vital water sources and manage waste products. Our focus is on improving te mauri o te wai so we can all trust the quality of the water we drink, play in and use every day.Â
Find out more about our specialist and research areas in the links above, and our team and services below.
Whau: Plastics and Te Wai Whau, Tāmaki Makaurau-Auckland
Te Hau o te Whau (the essence of the Whau) is a pollution and waste-focused project that brings together groups working across science, community and iwi to help improve the mauri (life force) of the Whau River. Read more about the microplastics analysis and impact assessment carried out at the Whau: Plastics and Te Wai Whau, Tāmaki Makaurau-Auckland
Groundwater Research Impact Report, Pūrongo Pānga Rangahau Wainuku 2023
In Aotearoa New Zealand, nearly half of drinking water comes from groundwater, and it is an important source for replenishing surface water like rivers, lakes, and wetlands. This report highlights ESR’s work to understand the current state of groundwater, how groundwater will respond to stressors, and how to prevent groundwater contamination.
Overview of the power, limitations and interpretation of microbial source tracking in recreational freshwater quality management
Freshwater recreational use is highly valued by New Zealanders. Contamination from point and non-point discharges of sewage and animal faeces presents a risk to human health. Water quality managers need to understand the risks to human health from faecal contamination to manage and improve recreational freshwater water quality and protect public health. Human faecal contamination may have human specific pathogens, such as viruses, but zoonotic pathogens from animal sources may also cause disease in humans. Monitoring recreational waters against the microbial criteria is routinely undertaken in the bathing season using the faecal indicator bacteria (FIB), Escherichia coli (E. coli). Where E. coli criteria are exceeded water quality managers need to identify the source of contamination to better understand the risk and target interventions that will improve water quality. Data from surveys of pathogens and faecal indicators in freshwater in New Zealand in 1998-2000, 2020 and 2021 showed that pathogen contamination comes from rural and urban activities.
Household water supplies: the selection, operation and maintenance of individual household water supplies
This booklet gives information about the supply of safe drinking water to households that are not connected to town water supplies. It includes information on water sources, storage and treatment. It should be read in conjunction with the Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality Management for New Zealand, published by the Ministry of Health. (Go to https://www.health.govt.nz/publication/guidelines-drinking-water-quality-management-new-zealand)
Recreational Water Quality Guidelines Update
Water recreation is important to the wellbeing of communities and can provide economic benefits from tourism. However, the presence of pathogens from environmental faecal contamination may adversely affect public health. Recreational water quality guidelines are developed to protect public health and to support management of water quality.
Report on a survey of New Zealand drinking-water supplies for arsenic and nitrate
The survey reported here was undertaken to provide the Ministry of Health with an update of information on arsenic and nitrate in New Zealand networked drinking water supplies because of changes in our understanding of risk factors leading to arsenic in water supplies, and land-use changes possibly influencing nitrate concentrations.
Non-achievement of the Drinking-water Standards for New Zealand: E. coli transgressions
This report was undertaken for the Ministry of Health to review data from the annual survey of drinking water quality to see if there was evidence that maintaining a chlorine residual could overcome occasional E. coli transgressions, and evidence of the cause of these transgressions.
Risks to public health from emerging organic contaminants in the New Zealand aquatic environment
This report was prepared for the Ministry of Health to consolidate New Zealand data on emerging organic contaminants in wastewater and the receiving environment, and assess the risks to public health of this.
Acute maximum acceptable values for chemical determinands of health significance
This report was prepared for the Ministry of Health to present acute maximum acceptable values for the majority of the chemical determinands included in the Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand 2005 (Revised 2008).
Effective public health practice: Insights from Cardrona 2012
This report was prepared for the Ministry of Health to examine effective public health practice for managing environmental microbial risks at a local or regional level.
Specialist services
Specialist services
We provide health authorities, local and central government, industry and communities with scientific advice and expertise on the management of drinking water, groundwater, recreational water and wastewater. Please contact us to explore if our expertise can help your organisation.
Microbial Risk Assessment (MRA) tool
About
The Microbial Risk Assessment (MRA) tool provides an objective and transparent basis for consent decision-making on land use applications and their impact on drinking water supplies.
Protecting our drinking water from potential microbial contamination is critical for regional councils. An effective approach to assessing the risks posed by land use activities in close proximity to protected drinking water zones is needed in order to make informed consent decisions. ESR scientists are working alongside GNS and Environment Canterbury on a new model for microbial risk assessment of land use on drinking water supplies.
Groundwater modellers, hydrologists and microbiologists at ESR and GNS, along with Environment Canterbury (ECan), developed the Microbial Risk Assessment (MRA) tool to provide a more objective and transparent basis for consent decision-making on land use applications. This risk assessment tool involves modelling potential microbial contamination of groundwater supplies from land use activities such as community and on-site wastewater management systems, pastoral farming, wildfowl, stormwater systems, and animal effluent/manure application within ‘source protection zones’ – areas of protection around drinking water sources.Â
The MRA tool includes a range of soil and groundwater system types found throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, modelling various permeabilities, topographies, recharge rates, hydraulic gradients, and lithologies. The tool also includes four climate types for modelling, representing relevant regions of the country.Â
This MRA tool offers two significant improvements over the existing guidelines: improved inputs and improved risk modelling. It considers more input types, including additional land-use activities, multiple on-site wastewater management systems, and supply wells that are pumped at different rates. This improves the usefulness and application of the model as well as the risk model accuracy. In addition, the MRA also provides additional information and visualisation of uncertainty to assist in understanding trade-offs in risk with different separation distances and land use activities. Instead of evaluating at only a 95% confidence level, the entire spectrum of risks can be considered, from very risk averse setting at 99%, to more risk tolerant applications.
Benefits to land users and regional councils
The MRA benefits both land users and regional councils by providing greater guidance and certainty to stakeholders, reducing variation in assessment quality, assisting in consent processing, and avoiding duplication of effort in developing methods by individual regional councils.
The team is now building a user interface that will allow easy access and adoption of the MRA, assisting planners throughout Aotearoa New Zealand – and potentially beyond.
Get in touch
For questions about the tool, how to use it and what the benefits are; or to collaborate, share knowledge or develop partnerships projects in the groundwater or water quality space, get in touch with the Groundwater team.Â
Water Quality
Waterborne outbreak investigations
ESR's water scientists can identify a range of waterborne pathogens within a water sample and can link the bacteria to those found in another source such as cattle, sheep or poultry. Using sequencing facilities on-site we can determine the complete picture of microbes present in a water sample and the impact of activities, such as discharges, on the health of the microbial community present.
Tracking faecal sources
When waterways become contaminated with faeces, identifying the source of the pollution is an important part of the contamination management strategy. ESR has a range of molecular and chemical techniques that help to identify sources of faecal contamination of water, whether they are from farms, domestic or feral animals, humans or birds. For example, if an initial test indicates high levels of E. coli, we undertake one or more assays from our ‘toolbox’ of methods. We then develop a strategy for determining the most efficient way to identify the likely faecal contamination source, which includes a ‘decision tree’ outlining the steps to obtaining the most relevant information for the least financial outlay. We have an excellent record of helping local government staff with water management responsibilities to manage and reduce water pollution levels.
Surface water assessments
Our experts can assess the quality of surface and recreational waters and determine the cause of water pollution, including differentiating between sources of pollution. Our work includes developing monitoring and reporting programmes, applying bacterial and viral tracers to mark and follow effluent plumes, and conducting microbial risk assessments on discharges.
Drinking water standards and safety
About
We advise clients on the quality of their drinking water, report to the Ministry of Health on compliance with drinking water standards, assist with the management of large water quality datasets, and help develop resources to address public health risks associated with water supplies.
Register of recognised laboratories for New Zealand
To demonstrate compliance with the New Zealand Drinking-Water Standards, water suppliers need to monitor the quality of their drinking water by taking water samples and having them analysed. The Ministry of Health requires all such testing to be performed by laboratories that have appropriate skills and quality assurance procedures and to be registered.
The Register of Recognised Laboratories for New Zealand is prepared annually by ESR for the Ministry of Health and provides easily accessible information about the laboratories that have been assessed by IANZ and found to comply with either ISO 17025 or the Ministry of Health Level 2 Criteria analytical laboratories.
The register includes information such as the name of the laboratory, its contact details, and certified methods for determinants the laboratory can test for.
Drinking water supply and quality
With backgrounds in public health, microbiology, environmental radioactivity and chemistry, our scientists help clients to understand the quality of their drinking water and the implications of that quality for water treatment.
Our clients benefit from our direct involvement in preparing New Zealand’s drinking-water standards. Our responsibility to provide the Ministry of Health with annual reports of compliance with those standards, means we can advise clients on interpreting the standards and the next steps required for compliance, as well as help develop resources to address public health risks associated with water supplies.
In addition, we help those clients with major water-related responsibilities to manage large water-supply and water-quality datasets. With more than a decade’s experience in summarising and reporting on such datasets, we can help clients make sense and benefit from the data.
Household water supplies: the selection, operation and maintenance of individual household water supplies
This booklet gives information about the supply of safe drinking water to households that are not connected to town water supplies. It includes information on water sources, storage and treatment. It should be read in conjunction with the Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality Management for New Zealand, published by the Ministry of Health. (Go to https://www.health.govt.nz/publication/guidelines-drinking-water-quality-management-new-zealand)
Public health risk assessment of sewage disposal by onsite wastewater treatment and disposal systems in the Darfield and Kirwee Communities
This report was undertaken to provide the Ministry of Health with information to better understand the public health risk associated with the onsite treatment and disposal of sewage in Selwyn.
Risks to public health from emerging organic contaminants in the New Zealand aquatic environment
This report was prepared for the Ministry of Health to consolidate New Zealand data on emerging organic contaminants in wastewater and the receiving environment, and assess the risks to public health of this.
Faecal Source Tracking in the Avon River, Christchurch March-May 2009
Testing & Analysis
Testing & analysis services
We detect and identify a range of waterborne pathogens as well as identifying their source and contaminant pathways.
Check out ESR's news and insights on water and environment
News
ESR drinking water project receives $8 million from NZ’s largest science fund
18 October 2024
News
Growing evidence linking plastics to serious health risk
07 October 2024
News
Understanding the risk of acute gastrointestinal disease from contaminated drinking water
26 September 2024
Insight
Small plastics, big consequences: the impact of microplastics on Aotearoa
24 June 2024
News
Microplastics in Aotearoa New Zealand: local sources and broad impacts
24 May 2024
News
Symposium to highlight success of world-leading Kiwi microplastic research
13 May 2024
News
Let’s commit to reducing plastic pollution this Earth Day
22 April 2024
Case Study
Microbial Risk Assessment of land use on drinking water supplies
13 June 2023
News
ESR leads the charge in checking our waters are safe for swimming
30 May 2023
News
World Water Day 2023
22 March 2023
Experts in the area
Experts in Water & Environment
Allanah Kenny
Scientist
Andy Pearson
Senior Scientist
Angela Baschieri
Science Leader, Climate Health Impacts
Angela Cornelius
Senior Scientist
Annette Bolton
Senior Scientist
Beverley Horn
Senior Scientist
Brent Gilpin
Technical lead/Team leader
Helena Rattray-Te Mana
Scientist
Isabelle Pattis
Senior Scientist
Jo Chapman
Senior Scientist
Liping Pang
Science Leader
Louise Weaver
Senior Scientist
Maria Hepi
Senior Scientist
Maxie Christison
Quality Director – Health and Environment
Megan Devane
Senior Scientist
Olga Pantos
Senior Scientist
Phil Abraham
Principal Technician
Richard Sutton
Groundwater Team Senior Technician
Sarah Nelson
Senior Scientist
Suzanne Manning
Technical Lead
Theo Sarris
Water and Environment Group Manager and Senior Science Leader
Virginia (Jinny) Baker
Senior Scientist